Islamic Finance

In January 2016, the Parliament of Uganda passed the Financial Institutions Amendment Bill, 2015 which among other modifications, provided for Islamic Banking/Finance in Uganda.

After a seemingly long silence, Uganda has enacted regulations for the Islamic Banking Sector in Uganda under the Financial Institutions (Islamic Banking) Regulations 2018 herein referred to as the Regulations. The purpose of the regulations is to provide for the regulatory framework, licensing and operation of Financial Institutions conducting Islamic Financial business and to ensure that the said institutions are Shari'ah compliant.

It is important to note that the Regulations provide for Islamic Financial Institutions which will be conducting Islamic financial business entirely and an Islamic Window which applies where conventional banks opt to conduct Islamic finance business alongside the convention banking business.

We give a review of the Islamic Finance Regulations and environment in Uganda;